Climate Change Responses in the High Arctic

A team of Danish scientists published a ten year report on the phenological responses to climate change in the high arctic: Rapid Advancement of Spring in the High Arctic ($). One of the clearest and most rapid signals of biological response to rising temperatures across has been shifts in species phenology, yet to date assessment has not been made of these changes in the high arctic. This new report documents extremely rapid climate-induced advancement of flowering, emergence and egg-laying in a wide array of species in a high arctic ecosystem. The strong responses and the large variability within species and taxa illustrate how easily biological interactions may be disrupted, and how dramatic responses to climatic changes can be for arctic ecosystems.